The steering aptly conveys that the front tire grip is diminishing toward the end of the lapping session, but the brake pedal divulges no hint of regen, metering out (abundant) carbon-ceramic retardation in direct proportion to pedal pressure. Overall levels of grip, acceleration, and braking absolutely deliver on the car's Le Mans prototype-racer looks, while all-wheel traction and deft computer controls invisibly make the performance feel far more accessible and less brutally dangerous than in the Carrera GT. ![]() These keep the engine running and sharpen all responses, delivering max e-boost for 20 or 30 seconds, respectively, and tailoring the rear wing and front diffusers for greater downforce. Of course, if you get only three hot laps of Porsche's Leipzig test track, you quickly dial up Sport and Race modes. Folks who track their 918s may find themselves adapting their driving style to include earlier braking in some corners to regen enough juice for the front/rear motors to add their 127/154 horses to the V-8's plenty impressive 608 hp throughout the next long straight. (Most hybrids top out at 0.15 g.) With this much energy onboard and the ability to maintain it, Porsche reckons the 918 will be able to deliver more e-boost energy lap after lap than its hybrid competitors. It can absorb regenerative braking energy almost as quickly, providing up to 0.50 g of regen, biased heavily to the electrically driven front axle. Its 312 cells can deliver an impressive 230 kW of power - enough to feed the 95-kW front and 115-kW rear electric motors full power at a maximum discharge rate of 606 amps for 10 seconds. The lithium-ion chemistry is equivalent to that used in the Panamera plug-in, but the cells are wound placing the anode and cathode closer together, which permits much faster charging and discharging. What sets Porsche's hybrid apart from those of its competitors is its 6.8-kW-hr battery pack. The strategic point of the exercise was to develop the skills, hardware, and software Porsche's engineers will need to achieve future CO2 and fuel economy compliance without compromising performance.Īs with most hypercars, this one leans heavily on racing experience, from its drivable carbon-fiber monocoque chassis (we rode along in a bare development chassis in June 2012), to its 4.6-liter V-8 based on that of the LMP2 RS Spyder race car, to its hybrid drive control systems derived from the 911 GT3 R (flywheel) Hybrid racer. In July of that year, the board of management gave the gas/electric hybrid all-wheel-drive 918 Spyder the green light for production, with the seemingly disparate goals of achieving 3.0-liter/100 km (78 mpg) fuel consumption and a quicker Nürburgring lap time than any previous Porsche supercar had achieved. So a team of 40 engineers in Germany and 20 fabricators in Italy sharpened their pencils, developed a ration-al design that leveraged racing experience with kinetic-energy recovery systems (KERS), and made it happen. It would be the first hybrid supercar to be displayed to the public, and it would not be a science-fiction fantasy. The decision to build an ultra-high-performing, plug-in hybrid concept for the 2010 Geneva show was made just six months before the doors opened at the Palexpo.
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